No, Kaisa's Machine is not a machine, quite the opposite. It is the name of the delightfully fresh and playful jazz quintet centred around Finnish bassist Kaisa Mäensivu. Moving Parts is the third album by this formation. And: the album is fun.

With her four fellow musicians Sasha Berliner on vibraphone, Max Light on guitar, Eden Ladin on piano and Joe Peri on drums, Kaisa Mäensivu has already recorded the previous album Taking Shape, which also featured a number of guest musicians. Moving Parts was recorded by the core quintet, which the New York Times has already dubbed the ‘band of young aces’. The very first sounds give an idea of what may have led to this statement.

Tykytys opens with a piano figure that first runs up the scale and then, together with the drums that soon follow, invites the other musicians to enliven the odd metres with a heartbeat. This works extremely well and gives rise to great hopes - by which I don't mean the drum solo that sneaks through the piano ostinato in a different metre.

Rather, it is the musicality, paired with virtuosity and verve, which the very first bars promise as a guarantee of enjoyment. And they don't lie. Be it Best Kept Secret, which awakens the ear with intricate rhythms. Be it Moon Waves, whose harmonic charm makes you forget that excellent jazz is being savoured here, or Midnight Sun, which integrates all these aspects into an overarching unit in 6 minutes 19 seconds. And vocals? They are provided by Kaisa herself in Satama.

A total of seven tracks, spread over almost exactly 40 minutes of playing time, delight the ear, there's no better way to put it. Because the musicians' playing is excellent, an interwoven web of skill and expression that adds facets to each other's contribution that give the overall structure a remarkable quality.

The sound of the album is also surprising. It is clear and transparent, but in no way cutting or intrusive. The room dimensions are realistically chosen for a quintet that makes itself comfortable on stage, cosy as it were. You see each other, hear each other, perception-perception in the best sense of the word, translated at the mixing desk into lasting listening pleasure...

If all albums were played so excellently, music would be pure joy. (Thomas Semmler, HighResMac)

Kaisa Mäensivu, bass
Sasha Berliner, vibraphone
Max Light, guitar
Eden Ladin, piano
Joe Peri, drums

Recorded on June 30 & July 1, 2024 at Big Orange Sheep in Brooklyn, New York
Recording Engineer: Alon Benjamini
Assistant Recording Engineers: Brenna Campbell, Kevin Thomas
Mix Engineer: Matias Kiiveri
Mastering Engineer: Alon Benjamini
Produced byKaisa Mäensivu